A new study presented at the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society shows that postpartum anxiety can lead to a delayed onset of puberty in daughters.
The study, conducted on mice by researchers in New Zealand, found that low levels of prolactin in early pregnancycauses postpartum anxiety. (Maybe that's what was wrong with me.) Puberty was delayed in the daughters even if they weren't raised by their birth mothers.
According to Newswise, late puberty in humans is linked to shortened height and psychological problems that can persist into adulthood.
Note: This is not a human study, it's only one study, and it doesn't mean your daughter will have late puberty just because you had postpartum anxiety.
What is considered late puberty?
According to Kidshealth.org: Puberty takes place over a number of years, and the age at which it starts and ends varies widely. It generally begins somewhere between the ages of 7 and 13 for girls, and somewhere between the ages of 9 and 15 for guys, although it can be earlier or later for some people. This wide range in age is normal, and it's why you may develop several years earlier (or later) than most of your friends.
Sometimes, though, people pass this normal age range for puberty without showing any signs of body changes. This is called delayed puberty.
Though the exact cause of postpartum anxiety are not known, some studies show its due to the hyper activity of noradrenergic and serotenergic systems